Method of controlling device connected to universal plug and play home network via internet, and system and device for the method

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and device for controlling a device connected to a UPnP (universal plug and play) home network using the Internet is provided. This method includes: subscribing to the external device outside the UPnP home network and informing the external device of control information about the device connected to the UPnP home network; converting a third-party notification message about control of the device connected to the UPnP home network, the third-party notification message being received from the external device via the Internet, into a control message with respect to a device that provides a web-based user interface or a device that provides no web-based user interfaces; and transmitting the control message to the device that provides a web-based user interface or the device that provides no web-based user interfaces.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/762,454filed Jun. 13, 2007, which claims the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2006-0115449, filed on Nov. 21, 2006, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein in their entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Method and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate tousing the internet to control a device connected to a universal plug andplay (UPnP) home network, and more specifically, controlling a deviceconnected to a UPnP home network using a polling-based notificationservice provided by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) 2014standard.

2. Description of the Related Art

Computing technology has been recently applied to various devices, andas such, cheap and universal networking techniques are appearing andbeing used. For example, various devices used in houses, such asrefrigerators, TVs, washing machines, person computers (PCs), and audioplayers, are connected to a network, so that user convenience isincreased. In order to achieve this networking, a universal plug andplay (UPnP) standard has been proposed. UPnP is a standard that allowsdevices, such as a PC, a peripheral device, an intelligent homeappliance, and wireless equipment, to automatically recognize each otherusing the Internet and a web protocol when they are connected to anetwork. When UPnP is used and a user adds a device to the network, thedevice is automatically installed without manual configuration, receivesa TCP/IP address, and uses a discovery protocol based on the InternetHTTP in order to inform the other devices of the existence of theadditionally connected device. For example, when a camera and a printerhave been connected to a network and a picture is to be output from theprinter, a button of the camera is pressed, and the camera sends adiscovery request signal to the network in order to search for anavailable printer on the network. Then, in response to the discoveryrequest signal, the printer sends its location in Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) format to the camera. The camera and the printer may usean extensible markup language (XML) as a common language or determine away of communicating with each other by protocol negotiation. When thecommon language for communication is determined, the camera is able tocontrol the printer to print out a desired picture. In particular, theUPnP device architecture version 1.0 enables home appliances within aUPnP home network to be peer-to-peer networked on the basis of adecentralized and open networking structure instead of being under acentralized control. In this case, the UPnP specifies that standardnetworking technologies, such as IP and HTTP, are used as technicalcomponents of the decentralized and open networking structure so thatthe technical components operates independently of an operating system,a platform, and a transmission medium.

Generally, UPnP device architecture version 1.0 uses a multicastingmethod in order to discover a device, and thus it is impossible todiscover and control devices existing on other networks. When a UPnPhome network is implemented as a virtual private network (VPN) due tolack of IPv4 addresses, a UPnP device within the UPnP home network isunable to access via the Internet unless undergoing network addresstranslation (NAT). Although the UPnP device within the UPnP home networkis able to access via the Internet using a photo-mapping method, aseparate UPnP Internet gateway device (IGD) is required.

For these reasons, when a UPnP home network device is constructedaccording to the UPnP version 1.0, it is impossible to control a deviceconnected to a UPnP home network that is constructed using a VPN.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and system for controlling adevice connected to a universal plug and play (UPnP) home network usinga polling-based notification service that uses the Internet.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of controlling a device connected to a UPnP home network on thebasis of a signal transmitted by an external device outside the UPnPhome network, the method including the operations of: subscribing to theexternal device outside the UPnP home network and informing the externaldevice of control information about the device connected to the UPnPhome network; converting a third-party notification message aboutcontrol of the device connected to the UPnP home network, thethird-party notification message being received from the external devicevia the Internet, into a control message with respect to a device thatprovides a web-based user interface or a device that provides noweb-based user interfaces; and transmitting the control message to thedevice that provides a web-based user interface or the device thatprovides no web-based user interfaces.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having a recorded program forexecuting the method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda device for controlling a device connected to a UPnP home network onthe basis of a signal transmitted by an external device outside the UPnPhome network, the device including a notification/event processing unit,a first control point, and a second control point. Thenotification/event processing unit converts a third-party notificationmessage about control of the device connected to the UPnP home network,the third-party notification message being received from the externaldevice via the Internet, into a control message with respect to a devicethat provides a web-based user interface or a device that provides noweb-based user interfaces, and subscribes to the external device outsidethe UPnP home network and informs the external device of controlinformation about the device connected to the UPnP home network. Thefirst control point transmits the control message with respect to thedevice that provides a web-based user interface and collects controlinformation about the device that provides a web-based user interface.The second control point transmits the control message with respect tothe device that provides no web-based user interfaces and collectscontrol information about the device that provides no web-based userinterfaces.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of remotely controlling a device connected to a UPnP homenetwork, the method including: a first device connected to the UPnP homenetwork subscribing to a second device outside the UPnP home network,wherein the first device informs the second device of controlinformation about the device connected to the UPnP home network; when anevent about the device is generated, generating a third-partynotification message about the event in the second device; the seconddevice transmitting the third-party notification message to the firstdevice via the Internet; the first device converting the third-partynotification message into a control message with respect to a devicethat provides a web-based user interface or a device that provides noweb-based user interfaces; and the first device transmitting the controlmessage to the device that provides a web-based user interface or thedevice that provides no web-based user interfaces.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computerprogram for executing the method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda system for remotely controlling a device connected to a UPnP homenetwork, the system comprising: a second device generating a third-partynotification message about an event when the event is generated, andtransmitting the third-party notification message via an Internet to afirst device connected to the UPnP home network; and a first devicereceiving the third-party notification message from the second device,converting the third-party notification message into a control messagewith respect to a device that provides a web-based user interface or adevice that provides no web-based user interfaces, and transmitting thecontrol message to one of the device that provides a web-based userinterface and the device that provides no web-based user interfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will become moreapparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a CEA-2014 system according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a device connected to auniversal plug and play (UPnP) home network via the Internet, accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a scheduled recording method using theInternet, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of theinvention are shown. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote likeelements. It should be understood, however, that the exemplaryembodiments are merely examples of the invention, which may be embodiedin various forms. The following description and drawings are not to beconstrued as limiting the invention and numerous specific details aredescribed to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention,as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one of ordinaryskill in the art how to make and/or use the invention. However incertain instances, well-known or conventional details are not describedin order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a CEA-2014 system according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, theCEA-2014 system includes a remote user interface client (RUIC) 110connected to a universal plug and play (UPnP) home network 140, a targetdevice 100 connected to the UPnP home network 140, and a remote userinterface server (RUIS) 120 connected to the RUIC 110 via an Internet150.

The target device 100 includes, for example, a device that provides aweb-based user interface, and a device that provides no web-based userinterfaces. For example, the device that provides a web-based userinterface may be a CEA-2014 device, and the device that provides noweb-based user interfaces may be an UPnP device or a legacy device.CEA-2014 denotes a new standard published by a web-based ConsumerElectronics Association's (CEA) R7 home network association. TheCEA-2014 standard is a web-based protocol and framework for a remoteuser interface based on a UPnP network and the Internet. The CEA-2014device is a UPnP device that provides a web-based user interface,whereas the UPnP device is a UPnP device that provides no web-based userinterfaces. The legacy device denotes a device that neither has a UPnPfunction nor provides a web-based user interface.

Referring to FIG. 1, a notification/event processing unit 111 of theRUIC 110 receives a third-party notification message from anotification/event processing unit 121 of the RUIS 120.

The third-party notification message is produced by the RUIS 120according to the CEA-2014 standard and includes an event that a user hasissued. The notification/event processing unit 111 converts the receivedthird-party notification message into a control message for a devicethat provides a web-based user interface or a device that provides noweb-based user interfaces, and transmits the control message to a UPnPcontrol point 113 or a user interface (UI) control point 114. In orderto receive a CEA-2014 polling-based notification service, thenotification/event processing unit 111 subscribes to the RUIS 120, withcontrol information about devices that have been collected by the UPnPcontrol point 113 or the UI control point 114.

The UPnP control point 113 receives from the notification/eventprocessing unit 111 the control message for a device that provides noweb-based user interfaces, and transmits the control message to thedevice that provides no web-based user interfaces. Thereafter, thedevice that provides no web-based user interfaces performs an operationdepending on the control message. Preferably, the UPnP control point 113receives the result of the control from the device that provides noweb-based user interfaces, generates a report message for the controlresult, and transmits the report message to the RUIS 120. The UPnPcontrol point 113 also collects control information about the devicethat provides no web-based user interfaces, using an UPnP action. Inparticular, a legacy device has no UPnP function and thus the legacydevice itself should register control information in the UPnP controlpoint 113.

Meanwhile, the UI control point 114 receives from the notification/eventprocessing unit 111 the control message for a device that provides aweb-based user interface, and transmits the control message to thedevice that provides a web-based user interface. Thereafter, the devicethat provides a web-based user interface performs an operation dependingon the control message. Preferably, the UI control point 114 receivesthe result of the control from the device that provides a web-based userinterface, generates a report message for the control result, andtransmits the report message to the RUIS 120. The UI control point 114also collects control information about the device that provides aweb-based user interface, using an UPnP action.

An extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML) browser 112 is includedin the RUIC 110 and displays a web-based user interface received from aweb server 122 of the RUIS 120.

The web server 122 of the RUIS 120 provides, to an external device 130,a web-based user interface for controlling a device connected to theUPnP home network 140. Preferably, the web server 122 may authenticatethe external device 130 when the external device 130 tries to contactthe RUIS 120.

The external device 130 is connected to the RUIS 120 by wire orwirelessly. The external device 130 also receives and displays theweb-based user interface provided by the web server 22, so that a userprovides a desired control event to the RUIS 120.

The notification/event processing unit 121 receives the control eventgenerated by the external device 130, generates a third-partynotification message including the received control event, and transmitsthe third-party notification message to the RUIC 110 by means of apolling-based notification service using the Internet. The polling-basednotification service using the Internet is provided according to theCEA-2014 standard. When an event is generated, the generated event isprovided to the subscribed RUIC 110 by the polling-based notificationservice. The polling-based notification service is the same as reallysimple syndication (RSS) in that updated contents of a website areprovided to a subscriber so that the subscriber can easily recognize theupdates through the Internet.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a device connected to aUPnP home network via the Internet, according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in operation S200, a legacy device itselfregisters control information to the UPnP control point 113 using anout-of-band protocol.

In operation S201, unlike the legacy device, the UPnP control point 113and the UI control point 114 discover a UPnP device and a CEA-2014device using an UPnP action and registers control information about thediscovered UPnP device and CEA-2014 device.

In operation S202, the UPnP control point 113 and the UI control point114 collect control information about the device connected to the UPnPhome network from the registered control information.

In operation S203, the notification/event processing unit 111 of theRUIC 110 submits a subscription request to the notification/eventprocessing unit 121 of the RUIS 120, with the collected controlinformation about the device connected to the UPnP home network.

In operation S204, the notification/event processing unit 121 authorizesthe subscription in response to the subscription request and registersthe received control information (including an event) about the deviceconnected to the UPnP home network.

In operation S205, a user accesses the web-based user interface (i.e., aweb page) provided by the web server 122, so that an event is generated.

In operation S206, the notification/event processing unit 121 generatesa third-party notification message about the generated event.

In operation S207, the notification/event processing unit 121 transmitsthe third-party notification message to the notification/eventprocessing unit 111 of the RUIC 110 via the Internet.

In operation S208, the notification/event processing unit 111 of theRUIC 110 converts the received third-party notification message into acontrol message for a device that provides a web-based user interface ora device that provides no web-based user interfaces.

In operation S209, the UPnP control point 113 or the UI control point114 transmits the control message to the target device 100 (e.g., alegacy device, a UPnP device, or a CEA-2014 device).

In operation S210, the target device 100 performs a control operationdepending on the control message and transmits the result of the controlto the UPnP control point 113 or the UI control point 114.

In operation S211, the UPnP control point 113 or the UI control point114 generates a report message about the result of the control andtransmits the report message to the web serve 122 of the RUIS 120.

In operation S212, the web server 122 transmits the received reportmessage to the external device 130. Then, the external device 130displays the report message on the web-based user interface (i.e., a webpage).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a scheduled recording method using theInternet, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.In FIG. 3, a device that is connected to a UPnP home network and is tobe controlled by the external device 130 is a personal video recorder(PVR). It is assumed that the PVR is a UPnP device that provides noweb-based user interfaces.

In operation S300, the UPnP control point 113 discovers a UPnP device(i.e., a PVR) using a UPnP action and registers control informationabout the UPnP device. The control information may include the name ofthe UPnP device, a method of controlling the UPnP device, the status ofthe UPnP device, etc. Here, SRS denotes a scheduled recording service.

In operation S301, the UPnP control unit 113 collects the controlinformation about the device connected to the UPnP home network from theregistered control information.

In operation S302, the notification/event processing unit 111 of theRUIC 110 submits a subscription request to the notification/eventprocessing unit 121 of the RUIS 120, with the collected controlinformation about the device connected to the UPnP home network.

In operation S303, the notification/event processing unit 121 authorizesthe subscription in response to the subscription request and registersthe received control information (including an event) about the deviceconnected to the UPnP home network.

In operations S304 and S305, a user accesses the web-based userinterface (i.e., a web page) provided by the web server 122, so that anevent (i.e., a scheduled recording service) is generated. The scheduledrecording service may be a recording date, a recording time, etc.

In operation S306, the notification/event processing unit 121 generatesa third-party notification message about the generated event.

In operation S307, the notification/event processing unit 121 transmitsthe third-party notification message to the notification/eventprocessing unit 111 of the RUIC 110 via the Internet.

In operation S308, the notification/event processing unit 111 of theRUIC 110 converts the received third-party notification message into acontrol message for the UPnP device, that is, the PVR.

In operation S309, the UPnP control point 113 transmits the controlmessage to the UPnP device, that is, the PVR.

In operation S310, the UPnP device, that is, the PVR, performs a controloperation depending on the control message. In operation S311, the UPnPdevice, that is, the PVR, transmits the result of the control to theUPnP control point 113.

In operation S312, the UPnP control point 113 generates a report messageabout the result of the control and transmits the report message to theweb server 122 of the RUIS 120. In operation S312, the web server 122transmits the received report message to the external device 130. Then,the external device 130 displays the report message on the web-baseduser interface (i.e., a web page).

As described above, a user is able to control a device connected to aUPnP home network via the Internet, using a polling-based notificationservice using the Internet. Also, a third-party notification messagetransmitted by a RUIS is converted into a control message about aCEA-2014 device, a UPnP device, or a legacy device that has no UPnPfunction, so that compatibility of the CEA-2014 device and the UPnPdevice with a non-standard device is ensured.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

1. A method of controlling a device connected to a UPnP (universal plug and play) home network based on a signal transmitted by an external device outside the UPnP home network, the method comprising: subscribing the device connected to the UPnP home network to the external device outside the UPnP home network and informing the external device of control information about the device connected to the UPnP home network; receiving a third-party notification message about control of the device connected to the UPnP home network, from the external device via the Internet, converting the third-party notification into a control message for the device connected to the UPnP home network; and transmitting the control message to the device connected to the UPnP home network, wherein the device connected to the UPnP home network is a device that provides a web-based user interface or a device that provides no web-based user interface. 